Today is the second day of the Tohoku Youth Orchestra's pre-concert training camp. That means there are only two more days until the performance. Conductor Toshio Yanagisawa, who has repeatedly said "I don't have time," has been practicing Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 from 8 a.m. all morning. Then, in the afternoon, director Ryuichi Sakamoto and Sayuri Yoshinaga appeared for the rehearsal. The children's loud applause, cheers, and stomping echoed through the rehearsal room. At the beginning, Director Sakamoto gave a hot-blooded pep talk, saying, "You're not professionals, so it doesn't matter if you make mistakes or are bad at it. What's important is your passion. That will be conveyed to the listeners." As if responding to the passionate director Sakamoto's injection of energy, the children's performance was full of energy. The part where they performed with Sayuri Yoshinaga was a recitation of Yoshinaga's poem, with the performance of three songs from the soundtrack of the movie "Living with My Mother." I would like to include a photo here, but please forgive me for using an image provided by Yoshinaga-san.

I pretended to be a child, encouraged myself by saying that it was a work-related poisonous taste, and enjoyed a single steamed bun, which was delicious. I'm sorry. I also had the good fortune to speak with Yoshinaga Sayuri, and as we made eye contact and exchanged words, I felt as if I was being purified. I was captivated by the poems that came from a person who was like a pure spring of nature, Director Sakamoto who colored the words with the sound of the piano, and the Tohoku Youth members who supported the event with all their might. Speaking of gifts, in addition to strawberries and rice crackers from Director Sakamoto, Mari Watanabe, who was the host on the day, came to watch and brought a bunch of special dorayaki.

The dorayaki is engraved with "Tohoku Youth Orchestra" and a smiley face! Of course, it's delicious because it was selected by Mari Watanabe, who is known to love sweets. I learned the techniques of an adult black belt in gift-giving. After the afternoon practice, I noticed that percussionist Hidezumi Tsutsumi, a junior high school student from Fukushima City, was writing something in the dining area.

Before the show started, we composed some original music. Of course, we received guidance from Director Sakamoto.

The director smiled and said, "Yes!" I think you passed, Tsutsumi-kun. At dinner, director Sakamoto was surrounded by the members of the team and the TV cameras.

Furthermore, many members of the group wanted to take photos with Director Sakamoto.

Akama Kanayoshi, a fifth grade elementary school horn player, moved to Fukushima City, where his mother's family lives, one year before the disaster. "I want to tell my friends from my time in Tokyo that I'm still playing well in Fukushima," he said, and I'm glad he did. The performance is still to come. And for the evening practice, Yamashita Yosuke came along. The top photo shows Yamashita on piano performing Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," and Director Sakamoto listening to them. When Yamashita Yosuke's solo part came, the members looked around with grins on their faces. They couldn't help but enjoy the improvisational music, the freedom and power of jazz. Yamashita's specialty elbow hitting came out, and the performance heated up even more, and as if influenced by it, the children's performance became more and more flexible, and the sound changed dramatically. They were in a different league from previous practice. Children's ability to absorb and grow is amazing, is this what "active learning" is? Director Sakamoto, who was listening intently, couldn't help but clap his hands to the groove. The climax of the ending made my head spin. Perhaps it was the ecstasy of everyone there sharing the ``amazing experience.''

Although he is such an amazing jazz pianist, Yosuke Yamashita is also playful in the waiting room. As expected from the man who discovered Tamori. It was wonderful in many ways. Today, elementary and junior high school students from Koriyama City, Fukushima, who had just finished their closing ceremony, joined us and finally everyone was together. We will practice again tomorrow morning. The fifth graders who said they woke up at 5am this morning are probably fast asleep by now.